Paris-Roubaix: Moments in History

The Queen of the Classics, L’enfer du Nord, The Hell of the North – the many nicknames of Paris-Roubaix reflect its reputation as probably the hardest one-day race in the world. The cobbles, the dirt, the mud, the crashes; it’s a race that captures the attention like few others.

For this piece we trawled the archives to find some images that capture just how hard Paris-Roubaix is. Not only that but we’ve also pulled together some highlights videos from recent editions to really get you in the mood for Sunday’s race. Enjoy!

Hennie Kuiper dropping the hammer on the cobbles during the 1983 Paris-Roubaix. Kuiper crashed twice, somehow maintaining his position within the lead group, before having another setback with six kilometers to go — a puncture. His team manager was able to quickly bring a new bike to him. Kuiper would enter the velodrome in Roubaix alone, winning by over a minute.

“A Paris–Roubaix without rain is not a true Paris–Roubaix. Throw in a little snow as well, it’s not serious.” – Sean Kelly

Alain Bondue of France and Gregor Braun of Germany put in a huge effort in the mud during the 1984 Paris-Roubaix.

Sean Kelly won Paris-Roubaix twice, in 1984 (pictured) and in 1986. Kelly’s total of nine Monument victories makes him one of the most successful classics riders in history. Though he finished second at the Tour of Flanders on three occasions, and third at worlds twice, he never won either race.

More of Kelly from the 1984 edition. Check out the condition of the road.

Adrie van Houwelingen and Phil Anderson sport some terrific caps in an early-1980s edition of the race.

The 1987 Paris-Roubaix is considered by many to have been one of the most grueling editions ever. On this day, only 47 of 192 starters made it to the finish, with 25-year-old Eric Vanderaerden finishing at the top of the podium. Instead of finishing in the Roubaix Velodrome, the 1987 edition finished on the Avenue des Nations-Unies.

Left: Johan Museeuw winning his second Paris Roubaix in 2000. He pointed to his knee as he crossed the finish line — a knee he broke two years earlier in a crash that almost ended his career thanks to an infection. Right: Matt Hayman after the 2008 Paris Roubaix.

Peter van Petegem celebrates after winning the 2003 Paris-Roubaix ahead of Dario Pieri. Van Petegem now sells insurance in a small town near Gent, close to the Koppenberg.

A crash sends a handful of riders into the mud during the 2005 Paris-Roubaix.

Tom Boonen holds aloft the first of his four cobblestone trophies from Paris-Roubaix.

George Hincapie sits by the roadside in 2006 after his steerer tube broke and he fell off, injuring his collarbone. It was Hincapie’s race to win that year, but if he didn’t have bad luck, he’d have no luck at all …

Paris-Roubaix has prompted the design of some interesting bike tech over the years.

In 2007 Stuart O’Grady became the first Australian to win Paris-Roubaix. When Stuey came home at the end of that season, he brought that cobbled trophy to Cafe Racer and passed it around. Grown men wept …

Fabian Cancellara grits his teeth on the Carrefour de l’Arbre on his way to winning a second Paris-Roubaix, this one in 2010.

Johan Van Summeren ploughs through a dusty cobbled sector before going on to win the 2011 Paris-Roubaix.

Niki Terpstra hangs on for dear life as Tom Boonen kicks on the afterburners in the 2012 Paris-Roubaix. Terpstra would soon be dropped and Boonen would go on to ride solo for more than 50km, winning his fourth Paris-Roubaix by roughly 90 seconds.

Fabian Cancellara won his third Paris-Roubaix in 2013 from a two-up sprint against Sep Vanmarcke. Cancellara and Vanmarcke had ridden into the Roubaix Velodrome together and while Cancellara was leading in the early part of the lap, Vanmarcke was forced to the front by some clever riding by Cancellara. Vanmarcke started his sprint first but Cancellara caught on to the Belgian’s wheel, then pushed past for an hard-fought win.

In 2014 Niki Terpstra bridged across to the lead group with 8.9km to go, before setting off alone with 6.3km left to race.

Terpstra held on to win the 2014 Paris-Roubaix by 20 seconds ahead of nine chasers. John Degenkolb was second while Mr Consistent, Fabian Cancellara, was third.

In the 2015 edition of Roubaix, several riders chanced their arm at a level crossing, getting across mere seconds before a high-speed train came through. Thankfully no one was hit, but the incident did prompt a change in the rules, hopefully preventing a repeat performance in future.

It was an unusually large group that reached the Roubaix velodrome in 2015. Degenkolb won the sprint easily.

In his 15th attempt at Paris-Roubaix, Mat Hayman took a sensational surprise victory in 2016. The Australian was in the early break, then followed the favourites, before beating the likes of Tom Boonen in the final sprint. A remarkable story, particularly given Hayman had broken his elbow just a few months earlier.

Tom Boonen impressed many with his words of praise for Hayman after being beaten. “If someone out of the other guys had to win it, it was Mathew. The guy deserves it. He has been such a good helper all of his career and for him it’s a life-changer, and if I win a fifth, what would it change? I would have been happy, a little bit happier, but for the rest would’ve changed nothing. For him it changes his life. It was nice to see him win.”

After needing a replacement bike midway through the 2017 edition, Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) attacked late, forged the lead group, then won the sprint.

In 2018, world champion Peter Sagan attacked from the peloton and bridged across to the remnants of the break (including Silvan Dillier). Sagan and Dillier went to the finish together where Sagan comfortably won the sprint.